Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova has a day to forget

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — It just wasn’t Gary Nova’s day as wind and snow swirled at Heinz Field.

His timing was off. Some of his passes sailed too high. Some hit the turf. Some were dropped.

“I regret the whole game,” said the sophomore quarterback, who completed 18 of 37 for 157 yards and a touchdown. “I didn’t execute well enough.”

Nova spent much of his time fleeing the onslaught of Pitt linemen as Pitt surprised Rutgers, 27-6, yesterday in a Big East Conference matchup.

“They did a good job putting pressure on me,” he said. “They beat us up.”

Nova took a hard hit late in the first quarter and sat out a series before returning for the remainder of the game.

“I got the wind knocked out of me when I hit the ground hard,” he said. “Give them credit, their defense played really well. I know a lot of their guys. Their record might not show it, but I know they have a lot of talented players.”

Pitt (5-6) suffocated Rutgers’ offense in the first half, holding the Scarlet Knights (9-2) to just two first downs and 50 yards.

They failed to make a first down on eight third-down situations and were ineffective running or throwing the ball.

Nova’s receivers didn’t help him, either.

“You see the drops, that hurts you,” Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said. “It didn’t seem like either phase of our game was working. I don’t know why those balls were dropped. But that happens to all receivers. I felt offensively we had opportunities early, but we didn’t click in our passing game. We squandered the good field position we had early in the game.”

Flood didn’t think the wind was a factor or that Nova was limited after he took the big hit.

“He got shook up a little bit,” Flood said. “When he came back into the game he was good.”

Nova and the offense finally found some rhythm in the third quarter and his 11-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Coleman late in the third quarter gave the Scarlet Knights a flicker of hope heading into the fourth quarter.

“We had a little something going,” Nova said. “But then …”

Trailing 24-6, Nova’s long pass flew over his receiver and was picked off easily by Pitt’s Lafayette Pitts deep in Panther territory.

“That was my fault, I just messed up,” Nova said. “I threw a bad ball. I’m not going to make any excuses for it.”